Faucet connecting structure

ABSTRACT

A faucet connecting structure contains a body including an internal chamber having a groove; an outlet pipe including an inlet end and an outlet end; the inlet end including an connecting segment with a slot; a retaining loop to define a C-shaped peripheral wall and an elongated opening; the peripheral wall including an outer face having plural first raised portions to form a first flexible deforming structure and having plural first recessed portions, including an inner face having plural second raised portions to form a second flexible deforming structure and having plural second recessed portions, the peripheral wall also including a first end and a second end, and the first end including a rib; a limiting means used to limit the retaining loop in the groove of the body to prevent the outlet pipe from disengagement from the body.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a faucet connecting structure toprevent an outlet pipe from vibration when it is connected on a body ofa faucet.

2. Description of the Prior Art

An outlet pipe and a body of a conventional facet are fitted with eachother and then welded together, however a welding connection willgenerate weld craters to be ground and polished further, having poorappearance and high production cost.

To solve above-mentioned defects, an improved connecting method isdeveloped to control a working precision of a connection of the outletpipe and the body of the conventional facet. Nevertheless, such animproved connecting method of the outlet pipe and the body has to bekept at a certain connecting precision so as to connect the outlet pipeand the body well, having high production cost. In addition, if theconnecting precision is not precise enough, related parts can not befitted with each other properly, accordingly the outlet pipe willvibrate during connecting with the faucet to influence connectingquality of the faucet badly.

The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate theafore-described disadvantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a faucetconnecting structure which is capable of overcoming the shortcomings ofthe conventional faucet connecting structure.

To obtain the above objectives, a faucet connecting structure providedby the present invention contains:

a body including an internal chamber, and the internal chamber includinga groove disposed on a top end thereof, the groove including an orificeformed on a top end thereof;

an outlet pipe including an inlet end and an outlet end; the inlet endincluding an connecting segment to be inserted into the groove from theorifice of the body, and the connecting segment including a slot securedon an outer surface thereof; wherein the slot is comprised of aperipheral fence, an internal fence, and an external fence;

a retaining loop made of a resilient material and formed in a C-ringshape to define a C-shaped peripheral wall and an elongated opening tobe expended and retracted elastically; the peripheral wall including anouter face formed in a wave shape, and the outer face including aplurality of adjacent first raised portions and first recessed portions,and the first raised portions being formed a first flexible deformingstructure; the peripheral wall also including an inner face formed in awave shape, and the inner face including a number of adjacent secondraised portions and second recessed portions, the second raised portionsbeing formed a second flexible deforming structure, and the secondraised portions being in response to the first recessed portionsrespectively, the second recessed portions corresponding to the firstraised portion individually;

the peripheral wall of the retaining loop including a first end and asecond end axially formed thereon, and the first end including a ribradially extending outward therefrom;

the retaining loop being retained in the slot of the connecting segmentof the outlet pipe by using the opening, and the rib engaging with theinternal fence of the slot, thereafter the retaining loop is furtherinserted into the groove of the body, such that the retaining loop ispressed by one radial force from the groove and the peripheral fence byways of the first and the second flexible deforming structures of theouter and the inner faces of the retaining loop to cause one flexibledeformation and one radial engaging force against the groove and theslot of the outlet pipe, hence the retaining loop, the body, and theoutlet pipe engage with one another tightly, and the outlet pipe islimited securely without vibration with the body when a user touches theoutlet pipe;

a limiting means used to limit the retaining loop in the groove of thebody to prevent the outlet pipe from disengagement from the body.

Thereby, the retaining loop is pressed by one radial force from thegroove and the peripheral fence by ways of the first and the secondflexible deforming structures of the outer and the inner faces of theretaining loop to cause one flexible deformation and one radial engagingforce against the groove and the slot of the outlet pipe. Therefore, theretaining loop, the body, and the outlet pipe engage with one anothertightly, and the outlet pipe is limited securely without vibration withthe body when a user touches the outlet pipe.

The flexible deformation generating from the forced retaining loop isserved to eliminate a fitting gap between the body and the outlet pipeso as to enhance connecting strength, such that a working precisionbetween related parts is lowered to decrease production cost andincrease yield rate of the product.

Likewise, the retaining loop is fixed on the connecting segment of theoutlet pipe in advance and then is connected with the body to avoidconventional welding process and grinding process, thereby preventingfrom weld craters and enhancing aesthetics appearance.

The limiting means is used to limit the retaining loop in the groove ofthe body to prevent the outlet pipe from axially moving and rotatingrelative to the body, connecting the faucet securely.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the exploded components of a faucetconnecting structure according to a first embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the assembly of a retaining loop ofthe faucet connecting structure according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along the line A-A of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view showing an inlet end of an outlet pipeof the faucet connecting structure according to the first embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view showing the operation of the faucetconnecting structure according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 6 is another cross sectional view showing the operation of thefaucet connecting structure according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 7 is also another cross sectional view showing the operation of thefaucet connecting structure according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view showing the retaining loop of thefaucet connecting structure causes a flexible deformation after it isforced according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the assembly of the faucetconnecting structure according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the exploded components of afaucet connecting structure according to a second embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 11 is a cross sectional view showing the operation of the faucetconnecting structure according to the second embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 12 is another cross sectional view showing the operation of thefaucet connecting structure according to the second embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing the assembly of the faucetconnecting structure according to the second embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing the exploded components of afaucet connecting structure according to a third embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing the assembly of the faucetconnecting structure according to the third embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 16 is a cross sectional view taken along the line B-B of FIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is an amplified view of FIG. 16.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will be clearer from the following descriptionwhen viewed together with the accompanying drawings, which show, forpurpose of illustrations only, the preferred embodiment in accordancewith the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a faucet connecting structure according to a firstembodiment of the present invention comprises a retaining loop 10, abody 20, an outlet pipe 30, and a limiting means 40.

The retaining loop 10, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, is made of a resilientmaterial, such as a rubber material or a plastic material, and is formedin a C-ring shape to define a C-shaped peripheral wall 101 and anelongated opening 102 to be expended and retracted elastically.

The peripheral wall 101 includes an outer face 11 formed in a waveshape, and the outer face 11 includes a plurality of adjacent firstraised portions 111 and first recessed portions 112, and the firstraised portions 111 are formed a first flexible deforming structure 10a, wherein there are ten first raided portions 111 and ten firstrecessed portions provided in this embodiment.

The peripheral wall 101 includes an inner face 12 formed in a waveshape, and the inner face 12 includes a number of adjacent second raisedportions 121 and second recessed portions 122, and the second raisedportions 121 are formed a second flexible deforming structure 10 b, andthe second raised portions 121 are in response to the first recessedportions 112 respectively, the second recessed portions 122 correspondto the first raised portion 111 individually; wherein there are tensecond raised portions 121 and ten second recessed portions 122 providedin this embodiment.

The peripheral wall 101 of the retaining loop 10 includes a first end 13and a second end 14 axially formed thereon, and the first end 13includes a rib 131 radially extending outward therefrom.

The first raised portions 111, the first recessed portions 112, thesecond raised portions 121, the second recessed portions 122 of theretaining loop 10 axially extend from the first end 13 to the second end14.

The opening 102 of the retaining loop 10 is capable of being fixed on amiddle section of one of the first raised portions 111, a middle sectionof one of the first recessed portions 112, or any positions of the firstraised or the second recessed portions.

The first and the second flexible deforming structures 10 a, 10 bgenerate a radially flexible deformation when they are pressed by aradial force as illustrated in FIG. 8, wherein a dotted line representsa unforced profile before the first and the second deforming structuresare forced, and a solid line means a forced profile after the first andthe second deforming structures are forced. It is to be noted that thefirst flexible deforming structure 10 a generates the flexibledeformation when it is acted by the radial force, because the firstraised portions 111 of the first flexible deforming structure 10 acorrespond to the second recessed portions 122 of the second flexibledeforming structure 10 b respectively to provide a flexible deformingspace. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, when the first flexible deformingstructure 10 a is acted by an outward radial force, it causes a firstflexible deformation and an outward radial engaging force against thefirst flexible deformation to be applied in further connecting processof the faucet. Also, due to the second raised portions 122 of the secondflexible deforming structure 10 b correspond to the first recessedportions 112 individually so as to provide another flexible deformingspace, when the second flexible deforming structure 10 b is acted by aninward radial force, it generates a second flexible deformation and aninward radial engaging force against the second flexible deformation tobe used in further connecting process of the faucet.

The body 20, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 5, includes an internalchamber 21, and the internal chamber 21 includes a groove 211 disposedon a top end thereof, and the groove 211 includes an orifice 212 formedon a top end thereof.

The outlet pipe 30, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, includes an inlet end 21and an outlet end 32; the inlet end 31 includes an connecting segment 33to be inserted into the groove 211 from the orifice 212 of the body 20,and the connecting segment 33 includes a slot 331 secured on an outersurface thereof to retain the retaining loop 10; wherein the slot 331 iscomprised of a peripheral fence 332, an internal fence 333, and anexternal fence 334.

The retaining loop 10 is retained in the slot 331 of the connectingsegment 33 of the outlet pipe 30 by using the opening 102, and the rib131 engages with the internal fence 333 of the slot 331, thereafter theretaining loop 10 is further inserted into the groove 211 of the body 20as illustrated in FIGS. 5-7, such that the retaining loop 10 is pressedby one radial force from the groove 211 and the peripheral fence 332 byways of the first and the second flexible deforming structures 10 a, 10b of the outer and the inner faces 11, 12 of the retaining loop 10 tocause one flexible deformation and one radial engaging force against thegroove 211 and the slot 331 of the outlet pipe 30. Thereby, theretaining loop 10, the body 20, and the outlet pipe 30 engage with oneanother tightly, and the outlet pipe 30 is limited securely withoutvibration with the body 20 when a user touches the outlet pipe 30.

It is to be noted that the rib 131 of the retaining loop 10 is capableof being positioned between the internal fence 333 of the slot 331 and atop end of an inner surface of the body 20 to provide an abutting andengaging effect as a pad.

Besides, a diameter of the first flexible deforming structure 10 a isslightly more that an inner diameter of the groove 211 when the firstflexible deforming structure 10 a is not forced so that the first andthe second flexible deforming structures 10 a, 10 b obtain excellentflexible deformation and radial forcing force.

The limiting means 10, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, includes alocking hole 41 and a movable engagement block 42; the locking hole 41is disposed at a position of the body 20 relative to the groove 211,wherein the locking hole 41 is directly formed on the body 20 in thisembodiment; and the engaging block 42 is fixed on the outer face 11 ofthe retaining loop 10, wherein the engagement block 42 is directlyformed on the outer face 11 of the retaining loop 10 in this embodimentas shown in FIG. 5 so that the engagement block 42 is retained into thelocking hole 41 of the body 20, thus axially limiting the retaining loop10 in the groove 211.

The engagement block 42 integrally extends from the first raised portion111 of the outer face 11 of the retaining loop 10 close to the secondend 14, and the limiting means 40 further includes a U-shaped cutout 43comprised of two first recesses 431 on two sides of the engagement block42 respectively and a second recess 432 below a bottom end of theengagement block 42, such that the engagement block 42 of the firstraised portion 111 swings inward as the first raised portion 111 isforced as shown in FIG. 5 without preventing the retaining loop 10 frombeing placed into the groove 211, and the engagement block 42 is alignedwith the locking hole 41 to return back to its original position and tobe retained in the locking hole 41, thus limiting the outlet pipe 30 tomove axially in relation to the body 20.

The engagement block 42 is selectively located at one of the firstraised portions 111 so that when it is pressed, the second recessedportion 122 allows to provide a space to make the engagement block 42swing inward as illustrated in FIG. 4, thus further connecting with theretaining loop 10 well.

To guide the retaining loop 10 into the groove 211 smoothly, on aconnection of the second end 14 and the outer face 11 of the retainingloop 10 is formed a tilted or arcuate guiding face 141 as illustrated inFIG. 5, and on the orifice 212 of the groove 211 is arranged anannularly inclined plane 213.

With reference to FIGS. 9-13, a difference of a faucet connectingstructure according to a second embodiment of the present invention fromthat of the first embodiment comprises:

a limiting means 50 including a positioning aperture 51, a screw bore52, and a fixing bolt 53 with screws; the positioning aperture 51 isfixed on an annularly peripheral wall 101 of a retaining loop 10; thescrew bore 52 is disposed on a groove 211 of a body 20; thereby afterthe retaining loop 10 is inserted into the groove 211 of the body 20with a connecting segment 33 of an outlet pipe 30, the fixing bolt 53 isscrewed with the screw bore 52 of the body 20 so that a distal end ofthe fixing bolt 52 is inserted into the positioning aperture 51 toretain the retaining loop 10 with the body 20 and to limit the outletpipe 30 to move axially and rotate in relation to the body 20.

Referring to FIGS. 14-17, a difference of a faucet connecting structureaccording to a third embodiment of the present invention from that ofthe first embodiment comprises:

an outlet pipe 30 including a housing 301 and a connector 302 connectedto one end of the housing 301; the connector 302 being used to form aconnecting segment 33;

a limiting means 60 including a cover 61 and a screwing segment 62formed on an outer surface of a top end of a body 20; the cover 61 isfitted to an outer surface of a slot 331 before the retaining loop 10 isfixed to the slot 331 of the connecting segment 33 so as to be definedbetween a rib 131 and the housing 301 of the retaining loop 10, and thenthe cover 61 is screwed with the screwing segment 62 so that the rib 131of the retaining loop 10 is defined between the cover 61 and the outersurface of the top end of the body 20, hence the retaining loop 10 isaxially limited in a groove 211 of the body 20, and the outlet pipe 30can not disengage outward from the body 20 and is rotated to control adirection of an outlet end 32 thereof.

It is to be noted that the rib 131 of the retaining loop 10 is locatedbetween an internal fence 333 of the slot 331 of the outlet pipe 30 andthe top end of the body 20 so as to be limited by the cover 61,accordingly the rib 31 is provided to obtain a limiting purpose.

The flexible deformation generating from the forced retaining loop 10 isserved to eliminate a fitting gap between the body 20 and the outletpipe 30 so as to enhance connecting strength, such that a workingprecision between related parts is lowered to decrease production costand increase yield rate of the product.

The retaining loop 10 is fixed on the connecting segment 33 of theoutlet pipe 30 in advance and then is connected with the body 20 toavoid conventional welding process and grinding process, therebypreventing from weld craters and enhancing aesthetics appearance.

The limiting means 40, 50, 60 are used to limit the retaining loop 10 inthe groove 211 of the body 20 to prevent the outlet pipe 30 from axiallymoving and rotating relative to the body 20, connecting the faucetsecurely.

While we have shown and described various embodiments in accordance withthe present invention, it is clear to those skilled in the art thatfurther embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of thepresent invention.

1. A faucet connecting structure comprising a body including an internalchamber, and the internal chamber including a groove disposed on a topend thereof, the groove including an orifice formed on a top endthereof; an outlet pipe including an inlet end and an outlet end; theinlet end including an connecting segment to be inserted into the groovefrom the orifice of the body, and the connecting segment including aslot secured on an outer surface thereof; wherein the slot is comprisedof a peripheral fence, an internal fence, and an external fence; aretaining loop made of a resilient material and formed in a C-ring shapeto define a C-shaped peripheral wall and an elongated opening to beexpended and retracted elastically; the peripheral wall including anouter face formed in a wave shape, and the outer face including aplurality of adjacent first raised portions and first recessed portions,and the first raised portions being formed a first flexible deformingstructure; the peripheral wall also including an inner face formed in awave shape, and the inner face including a number of adjacent secondraised portions and second recessed portions, the second raised portionsbeing formed a second flexible deforming structure, and the secondraised portions being in response to the first recessed portionsrespectively, the second recessed portions corresponding to the firstraised portion individually; the peripheral wall of the retaining loopincluding a first end and a second end axially formed thereon, and thefirst end including a rib radially extending outward therefrom; theretaining loop being retained in the slot of the connecting segment ofthe outlet pipe by using the opening, and the rib engaging with theinternal fence of the slot, thereafter the retaining loop is furtherinserted into the groove of the body, such that the retaining loop ispressed by one radial force from the groove and the peripheral fence byways of the first and the second flexible deforming structures of theouter and the inner faces of the retaining loop to cause one flexibledeformation and one radial engaging force against the groove and theslot of the outlet pipe, hence the retaining loop, the body, and theoutlet pipe engage with one another tightly, and the outlet pipe islimited securely without vibration with the body when a user touches theoutlet pipe; a limiting means used to limit the retaining loop in thegroove of the body to prevent the outlet pipe from disengagement fromthe body.
 2. The faucet connecting structure as claimed in claim 1,wherein the first raised portions, the first recessed portions, thesecond raised portions, the second recessed portions of the retainingloop axially extend from the first end to the second end.
 3. The faucetconnecting structure as claimed in claim 2, wherein the limiting meansincludes a locking hole and a movable engagement block; the locking holeis disposed at a position of the body relative to the groove, and theengaging block is fixed on the outer face of the retaining loop to beretained into the locking hole of the body so that the limiting theretaining loop is axially limited in the groove.
 4. The faucetconnecting structure as claimed in claim 3, wherein the engagement blockextends radially from one of the first raised portions, and theperipheral wall includes a U-shaped cutout formed on two sides of acircumferential direction of the engagement block so that the firstraised portion where the engagement is located has a resilient swingfunction.
 5. The faucet connecting structure as claimed in claim 1,wherein the opening of the retaining loop is fixed on a middle sectionof one of the first raised portions.
 6. The faucet connecting structureas claimed in claim 1, wherein the limiting means includes a positioningaperture, a screw bore, and a fixing bolt with screws; the positioningaperture is fixed on the annularly peripheral wall of the retainingloop; the screw bore is disposed on the groove of the body; the fixingbolt is used to screw with the screw bore of the body so that a distalend of the fixing bolt is inserted into the positioning aperture toretain the retaining loop in the groove.
 7. The faucet connectingstructure as claimed in claim 1, wherein an outlet pipe includes ahousing and a connector connected to one end of the housing; theconnector is used to form the connecting segment.
 8. The faucetconnecting structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the limiting meansincludes a cover and a screwing segment formed on an outer surface of atop end of a body; the cover is fitted to an outer surface of the slotbefore the retaining loop is fixed to the slot of the connecting segmentso as to be defined between the rib and the housing of the retainingloop, and then the cover is screwed with the screwing segment so thatthe rib of the retaining loop is defined between the cover and the outersurface of the top end of the body, hence the retaining loop is axiallylimited in the groove of the body.
 9. The faucet connecting structure asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the resilient material is selected form arubber material and a plastic material.